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Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government where the highest office of state is held by a king, emperor, prince, or other noble, usually for life and usually on the basis of inheritance. Monarchies are generally contrasted with republics. Traditionally, monarchies have been very common around Vexillium, and most places have, at some point, been ruled by monarchs. Today, the number of monarchies is considerably lower — fewer than half the states of Vexillium have retained a monarchic system of government. Types of monarchies Absolute versus constitutional Often, a distinction will be drawn between absolute monarchies and constitutional monarchies. In an absolute monarchy, the monarch's power is not subject to any significant legal restraints, being bounded only by practicality — a good example is Zartania, where the monarch has broad control over the direction of the entire country. In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is compelled to act within certain rules — a good example is Cruisana, where the monarch leaves governance to a democratically elected administration. It is not always easy to classify monarchies — some rulers, like the Emperor of Lendia, were theoretically bound by laws, but sometimes exceded them. Historically, most monarchies were absolute, but today, constitutional monarchy is probably more common. It should be noted that while many constitutional monarchies give little or no power to their monarchs, this is not always the case. In some countries, a monarch plays an active role in government within a constitutional framework. An example is Trinia, where the Emperor is not an absolute ruler but is nevertheless head of government in the same way that a president or prime minister might be. Methods of succession Different countries will have different means of determining who becomes monarch, and under what circumstances. Most monarchies in Vexillium's history have been hereditary, with a monarch being succeeded by a member of his or her family, but it is also possible to have other systems, such as an elective monarchy. Among hereditary monarchies, the most common form of succession is primogeniture, where a monarch is succeeded by his or her children on the basis of age. If the primogeniture is "agnatic", preference is given to male children, while if it is "cognatic", no distinction is made between males and females. Historically, the former was much more common, with the latter only becoming popular in modern times. Hereditary monarchies need not be based on primogeniture, however. One alternative is seniority, in which succession goes to the eldest person who is a direct descendant of the royal line. In effect, this means that a king will be succeeded by his younger brothers rather than by his sons, since they are all sons of a king, but the brothers are older. Only once one generation has been exhausted does power fall to the next. Some monarchies are elective, meaning that the monarch is chosen, rather than simply assuming the throne automatically. There is great variance in how an elected monarchy works, both in terms of the candidates and the voters. With regards to candidates, the crown may be limited to a single family, or at the other extreme, maybe open to anyone. With regards to voters, a monarch may be chosen by a small circle of nobles, or by the entire population. (Of course, if a monarchy can be contested by anyone and is voted on by the entire population, the only thing distinguishing it from an elected presidency would be titles and styling.) In some rare cases, there may be no formalised rules of succession at all, with things simply being "worked out at the time". This is how the Lendian monarchy effectively functioned. List of monarchies Sovereign monarchies Non-sovereign monarchies (Monarchs who reign in a territory which is not an independent country, or who do not have any official status but who are nevertheless significant.) Category:Monarchy Category:Government types